President-elect Barack Obama’s administration will be diverse and bipartisan, senior aides said on Sunday as the White House promised a smooth transition to power.

With economic woes and managing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan high priorities, both the incoming Democrats and outgoing Republicans have struck a tone of civility as the official handover looms on January 20.

Ahead of Obama’s talks on the transition with President George W. Bush at the White House Monday, members of his staff forecast that Obama’s cabinet could contain some familiar faces, particularly at the Pentagon.

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“Throughout the campaign, president-elect Obama has talked about the importance of bipartisanship,” Obama’s transition team co-chair Valerie Jarrett told NBC.

“I’m confident his administration will include people from all perspectives,” said Jarrett, a close aide to Obama who served as his Senate campaign finance director in 2004.

With the US military engaged on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a key question has been whether Obama would keep on Defense Secretary Robert Gates.